Based on the life of American socialite Florence Foster Jenkins, a woman who would not let a dire lack of talent interfere with her dreams of singing opera, director Xavier Giannoli has fashioned a ravishing period piece whose satirical barbs never quite conceal the warm empathy at its heart. What begins as a cruel comedy—Dumont’s opening rendition of Mozart’s “Queen of the Night” aria has the viewer laughing right along with the seated patrons—quickly elevates into a sublime dialogue on the fragility of dreams, a joyous celebration of art for art’s sake, and a scathing attack on the hypocrisy of an upper crust whose money can buy anything but compassion. Cajoled by acquaintances who prefer the simplicity of false flattery to painful honesty (and one smarmy anarchist who’d use her naïvety as a political statement) Marguerite is every bit the sacrificial lamb. Even her husband, who has sponged off of her wealth throughout their marriage, is more concerned with saving his own face. Only her faithful butler-cum-guardian angel Madelbos can recognize the pure soul shining beneath the cracking voice and gaudy stage costumes. Helping her maintain her comforting delusion by blocking criticism and blackmailing would-be detractors, Madelbos maintains a meticulous archive of his mistress in various operatic poses—his photographs capturing the dream even as it threatens to crumble from beneath her while his unblinking eye stares through the viewfinder like God himself. In Giannoli’s quietly subversive film the empress may have no clothes, but it is her court which winds up truly naked.

If you loved Florence Foster Jenkins, then you will enjoy this French film also about a rich woman who has a passion for music and singing. The story is told in a way that only the French can tell a story with pathos and humor. English subtitles.

Don't bother.

Try this French version of the true events, before watching Florence Foster Jenkins....

This 2015 French 'adaptation' of Florence Foster Jenkins' life and career predated Stephen Frears' film with Meryl Streep as FFJ. The invented plot elements make this film richer and more fun to watch: a Black butler-photographer who posed his mistress in her dream-roles, a clairvoyant bearded lady, a mean cross dressing voice coach who was a past-his-prime tenor, opium den,
screeching peacock, and a philandering husband....
Spoiler alert: set in 1920, when recording was rare and expensive, the heroine was SHOCKED to hear her own voice and died like a proper diva on stage.

I never got past the sound of the peacocks screeching....